A German court refused to dismiss the case against a Ukrainian national accused of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines

The Hamburg Higher Regional Court rejected a motion by the defense team of Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Kuznetsov to dismiss the criminal proceedings in the case involving the sabotage of the “Nord Stream 1” and “Nord Stream 2” gas pipelines in September 2022. 

The defense insisted on dismissing the case because the suspect, as a former officer of a special forces unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is bound by obligations not to disclose state secrets and cannot freely testify in court due to the threat of criminal prosecution in Ukraine.

The presiding judge rejected these arguments, noting that under German law, the defendant has the right to freely conduct his defense, and a person’s ability to testify in a German court cannot be restricted by the service regulations of another state.

Source: n-tv.

In Germany, charges have been filed against Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov in the Nord Stream case.

A second Ukrainian has been detained in Croatia in connection with the Nord Stream sabotage case.

Earlier, Tusk called on Germany to release the suspects in the Nord Stream sabotage case.